Amazon’s desire to see other cities — revealed by its search for a second headquarters home — hasn’t always cast Seattle in the most flattering light over the past year. Amazon’s jilted first love has had to ask tough questions about what other cities could offer that it couldn’t.

But news reports Monday indicate that Seattle may remain Amazon’s main squeeze, and at least one city official is celebrating.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan called reports that Amazon plans to split its second headquarters among two cities, with 25,000 employees each rather than the 50,000 originally promised to one community, “good news.” Speaking at an unrelated event at the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct, Durkan was asked about Amazon’s change of plans by KIRO’s Graham Johnson.

“I’d call those branch offices,” she said. “That would be good news.”

Leaks about the final stages of Amazon’s search for a second headquarters have been pouring out over the past few days. The story took a dramatic turn Monday, when The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported that instead of creating a second campus that is the “full equal” to Amazon’s first home in Seattle, the company will actually create two smaller offices in two different cities.

As Durkan and many Twitter users noted, creating two large satellite offices is not quite the same as a behemoth campus to match — or even outpace — Seattle.

The Times reports that Amazon is close to a deal with New York City and Arlington, Va. Over the weekend, The Journal reported that Amazon was in advanced talks with Northern Virginia, Dallas, and New York City. Both stories rely on anonymous sources familiar with the HQ2 search.

Amazon plans to reveal the winner (or winners) of its HQ2 contest by the end of the year. With the steady stream of leaks coming out in the final stages, it’s possible the announcement will come this week.

Monica Nickelsburg is GeekWire’s Civic Innovation Editor, covering technology-driven solutions to urban challenges and the intersection of tech and politics. Before joining GeekWire, she worked for The Week, Forbes, and NBC. Monica holds a BA in journalism and history from New York University. Follow her @mnickelsburg

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